August 1994.

It was around 7:00pm when I drove through the gate to Andrews AFB.  I was feeling rather tired having just finished meeting with my then wife to discuss our separation.   The temperature was mild for the year, around 75 degrees, and the sky was clear but I noticed wisps of fog along the ground and was reminded of Mannanan.  I traveled down Perimeter Road to my neighborhood and went home.

I am not sure when the compulsion began but by the time it was dark I was having odd feelings and thoughts about discarding one of my pieces of jewelry.  I tried to ignore it by watching television but I could not shake the nagging feeling that I should do something.  So I began to analyze the feelings and maybe pinpoint what it was I was needing to do.  At the time I wore 4 rings, my wedding band, a claddagh, a triskel and a ring given to me by a former Wiccan mentor.  The impression I was getting was that I had to dispose of one of these rings, my claddagh.  I spent about 20 minutes arguing with myself as to why this ring would be chosen when the other rings had more obvious personal value than the claddagh.  In the end I gave up the argument. I knew I had to throw the ring into a body of water and so ran to the first one I could think of.

My first attempt to meet the need was to run out my back door to a creek behind my home.   As I approached the creek two things struck me, one was the fog and second the filth.  The fog was very heavy which is not common in Maryland in August but I figured it was just a fluke.  As for the filth in the creek, well I knew I was not to 'sacrifice' my ring to that.  So the next body of water to come to mind was the lake located on the base.  I got into my car and proceeded to drive to the lake through a 'pea soup' fog that did not seem to move as I passed through it.  I pulled up to the lake and the oddest thing struck me and if I had any more doubts as to what it was I was doing, they were gone.  The fog I had been driving through surrounded the lake and all land beyond it, but NO fog was on the lake itself.  I could see the other bank clearly.  At this point I took off my claddagh, said a short prayer to Mannanan and threw it.

I did hear the splash but I never saw it.  What I was focused on at this point was the immense relief I was feeling.  It was as if some great thing was lifted off of me, I could breath, I could feel and I could see much more clearly than before.   Erynn and I talked about this a few times and while the reasons for this may still escape my, the results are obvious.  At that moment I became devoted as a polytheist and believer in the gods of Ireland and the spirits.